The Lunar New Year event is ending Pokémon GOLet’s take a look back at what worked and didn’t work with this event.
What worked in this Pokémon GO Event
- Miltank: Shiny Miltank debuted at Johto Celebration just two events ago, but it was a pretty tough find in the wild. At that event, the best chance of catching one was either by sorting out a field research task or by looting, even though Miltank’s Shiny pace didn’t seem elevated. The best part about the Lunar New Year 2021 event in Pokémon GO was how it showed Miltank in the wild more often and even during Tuesday’s Spotlight Hour.
- Timed Research: What Niantic advertised as a Tauros-focused timed study eventually became a way to earn Mega Gyarados Energy for free. It was a simple yet fun quest with rewards far more valuable than recently Timed Research offers.
- Friendship Bonuses: The current Friendship Bonuses run through two events, starting with the Lunar New Year 2021 event and running through the annual Valentine’s Day event that starts on Sunday. The bonuses saw more chances of going Lucky with friends, greater chances of trading with Lucky, greater trading distance, and more berries from Gifts. While the latter is something that is absolute no one asked, the rest of those bonus perks are some of the best available in Pokémon GO
What didn’t work in this Pokémon GO Event
- Same as last year: beyond the above, there was nothing new about the spawn pool. The main advantage was a Shiny-capable Gyarados in the wild, which was the same as last year. The problem with that is that Gyarados is also in Mega Raids, which would have made it capable of Shiny in all kinds of encounters anyway, so this repeated main feature seems less interesting in 2021 than 2020 … especially given the maligned Magikarp Community Day created Shiny Gyarados to a Pokémon that has the most trainers. With no new Unova or Kalos Pokémon, no costumes, no shiny releases, and nothing really unique added to the game, it’s hard not to think of this event as a less captivating replay of last year’s Lunar New Year event.
All in all
Pokémon GO has recently been in a weird place with a string of boring events, but the bonuses, the generous Timed Research and the second chance at a Shiny Miltank saved it. The wild spawns may have been boring most of the time, but this was otherwise a fun week of gameplay.